Longman basic english grammar 4th edition teachers guide

E
nglish
Grammar
BASIC

FOURTH EDITION

TEACHER’S GUIDE

A01_AZAR0967_04_TE_FM.indd 1

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A01_AZAR0967_04_TE_FM.indd 2

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nglish
E
Grammar
BASIC

FOURTH EDITION

TEACHER’S GUIDE

Martha Hall
Betty S. Azar

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Basic English Grammar, Fourth Edition
Teacher’s Guide
Copyright © 2014 by Betty Schrampfer Azar
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
Pearson Education, 10 Bank Street, White Plains, NY 10606
Staff credits: The people who made up the Basic English
Grammar, Fourth Edition Teacher’s Guide team,
representing editorial, production, design, and manufacturing,
are Dave Dickey, Daniel Dwyer, Nancy Flaggman, Amy
McCormick, Joan Poole, and Marian Wassner.
Text composition: S4Carlisle Publishing Services
Text font: Helvetica

ISBN 10: 0-13-336096-2
ISBN 13: 978-0-13-336096-7
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V001 20 19 18 17 16 15 14

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Contents

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .x
General Aims of Basic English Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .x
Suggestions for the Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .x
The Grammar Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Additional Suggestions for Using the Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
The Here-and-Now Classroom Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Demonstration Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Using the Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Oral Exercises with Chart Presentations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
The Role of Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Balancing Teacher and Student Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Exercise Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Warm-up Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
First Exercise after a Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Written Exercises: General Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Open-ended Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
Writing Practice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiv
Error-Analysis Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiv
Let’s Talk Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiv
Pairwork Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Small Group Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Class Activity (Teacher-Led) Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Listening Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Pronunciation Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Expansions and Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvi
Monitoring Errors in Oral Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvi
Optional Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvi
Homework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
The Workbook as Independent Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii
Test Bank for Basic English Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Fun with Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
AzarGrammar.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

Notes on American versus British English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Differences in Grammar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Differences in Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Differences in Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii

Key to Pronunciation Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
The Phonetic Alphabet (Symbols for American English) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Consonants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Vowels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Contents

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Chapter 1

USING BE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Chapter 2

USING BE AND HAVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Chapter 3

USING THE SIMPLE PRESENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

1-1
1-2
1-3
1-4
1-5
1-6
1-7
1-8
1-9

2-1
2-2
2-3
2-4
2-5
2-6
2-7
2-8

3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-5
3-6
3-7
3-8
3-9
3-10
3-11

Chapter 4

Singular pronouns + be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Plural pronouns + be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Singular nouns + be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Plural nouns + be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Contractions with be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Negative with be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Be + adjective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Be + a place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Summary: basic sentence patterns with be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Yes / no questions with be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Short answers to yes / no questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Questions with be: using where . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Using have and has . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Using my, your, her, his, our, their . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using this and that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Using these and those . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Asking questions with what and who + be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Form and basic meaning of the simple present tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Frequency adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Position of frequency adverbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Spelling and pronunciation of final -es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Adding final -s / -es to words that end in -y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Irregular singular verbs: has, does, goes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Like to, want to, need to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Simple present tense: negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Simple present tense: yes / no questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Simple present tense: asking information questions with where and what. . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Simple present tense: asking information questions with when and what time . . . . . . . . 37

USING THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

4-1
4-2
4-3
4-4
4-5
4-6
4-7
4-8

Be + -ing: the present progressive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Spelling of -ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Present progressive: negatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Present progressive: questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Simple present tense vs. the present progressive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Non-action verbs not used in the present progressive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
See, look at, watch, hear, and listen to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Think about and think that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter 5

TALKING ABOUT THE PRESENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Chapter 6

NOUNS AND PRONOUNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

5-1
5-2
5-3
5-4
5-5
5-6
5-7
5-8
5-9
5-10
6-1
6-2
6-3
6-4
6-5
6-6

vi

Using it to talk about time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Prepositions of time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Using it and what to talk about the weather. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
There + be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
There + be: yes / no questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
There + be: asking questions with how many . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Prepositions of place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
More prepositions of place: a list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Would like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Would like vs. like. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Nouns: subjects and objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Nouns as objects of prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Adjectives with nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Subject pronouns and object pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Nouns: singular and plural forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Nouns: irregular plural forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Contents

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6-7
6-8
6-9
6-10

Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Possessive nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Questions with whose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Possessive: irregular plural nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Chapter 7

COUNT AND NONCOUNT NOUNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Chapter 8

EXPRESSING PAST TIME, PART 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

Chapter 9

EXPRESSING PAST TIME, PART 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

Chapter 10

EXPRESSING FUTURE TIME, PART 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

7-1
7-2
7-3
7-4
7-5
7-6
7-7
7-8

8-1
8-2
8-3
8-4
8-5
8-6
8-7
8-8
8-9
8-10
8-11

9-1
9-2
9-3
9-4
9-5
9-6
9-7
9-8
9-9
9-10
9-11

10-1
10-2
10-3
10-4
10-5

10-6
10-7
10-8
10-9

Chapter 11
11-1
11-2
11-3
11-4
11-5
11-6

Chapter 12
12-1
12-2

Nouns: count and noncount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Using a vs. an . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Using a / an vs. some . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Measurements with noncount nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Using many, much, a few, a little . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Using the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Using Ø (no article) to make generalizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Using some and any . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Using be: past time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Simple past tense of be: negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Past of be: questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Simple past tense: using -ed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Past time words: yesterday, last, and ago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Simple past tense: irregular verbs (Group 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Simple past tense: negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Simple past tense: yes / no questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Simple past tense: irregular verbs (Group 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Simple past tense: irregular verbs (Group 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Simple past tense: irregular verbs (Group 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Simple past tense: using where, why, when, and what time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Questions with what . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Questions with who and whom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Simple past tense: irregular verbs (Group 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Simple past tense: irregular verbs (Group 6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Simple past tense: irregular verbs (Group 7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Before and after in time clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
When in time clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Present progressive and past progressive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Using while with past progressive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Simple past tense vs. past progressive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Future time: using be going to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Using the present progressive to express future time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Words used for past time and future time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Using a couple of or a few with ago (past) and in (future). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Using today, tonight, and this + morning, afternoon, evening, week,
month, year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Future time: using will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Asking questions with will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Verb summary: present, past, and future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Verb summary: forms of be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

EXPRESSING FUTURE TIME, PART 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124

May / might vs. will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Maybe (one word) vs. may be (two words). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Future time clauses with before, after, and when . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Clauses with if . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Expressing future and habitual present with time clauses and if-clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Using what + a form of do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

MODALS, PART 1: EXPRESSING ABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Using can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Pronunciation of can and can’t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

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12-3
12-4
12-5
12-6
12-7

Chapter 13
13-1
13-2

13-3
13-4
13-5
13-6
13-7
13-8
13-9

Using can: questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Using know how to. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Using could: past of can. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Using be able to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Using very and too + adjective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

MODALS, PART 2: ADVICE, NECESSITY, REQUESTS,
SUGGESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

Using should . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Using have + infinitive (have to / has to / had to). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Using must, have to / has to, and should . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Polite questions: may I, could I, and can I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Polite questions: could you and would you. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Imperative sentences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Modal auxiliaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Summary chart: modal auxiliaries and similar expressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Using let’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Chapter 14

NOUNS AND MODIFIERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

Chapter 15

MAKING COMPARISONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

14-1
14-2
14-3
14-4
14-5
14-6
14-7
14-8

15-1
15-2
15-3
15-4
15-5
15-6
15-7
15-8

Modifying nouns with adjectives and nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Word order of adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Linking verbs + adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Adjectives and adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Expressions of quantity: all of, most of, some of, almost all of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Expressions of quantity: subject-verb agreement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Using every, everyone, everybody, everything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Indefinite pronouns: something, someone, somebody, anything,
anyone, anybody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
The comparative: using -er and more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
The superlative: using -est and most . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Using one of + superlative + plural noun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Making comparisons with adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Comparisons: using the same (as), similar (to), and different (from). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Comparisons: using like and alike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Using but. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Using verbs after but. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
STUDENT BOOK ANSWER KEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175

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Preface

This Teacher’s Guide is intended as a practical aid to teachers. You can turn to it for notes on the
content of a unit and how to approach the exercises, for suggestions for classroom activities, and for
answers to the exercises in the text.
General teaching information can be found in the Introduction. It includes:
• therationaleandgeneralaimsofBasic English Grammar.

• classroomtechniquesforpresentingchartsandusingexercises.
• suggestionsforusingtheWorkbook in connection with the Student Book.
• supplementaryresourcetexts.
• commentsondifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.
• akeytothepronunciationsymbolsusedinthisGuide.
The rest of the Guidecontainsnotesandinstructionsforteachingeverychapter.Eachchapter
containsthreemainparts:theChapterSummary,thebackgroundnotesonchartsandexercises
(foundintheshadedboxes),andthebulletedstep-by-stepinstructionsforthechartsandmostofthe
exercises.
• TheChapterSummaryexplainstheobjectiveandapproachofthechapter.Italsoexplainsany
terminologycriticaltothechapter.
• Thebackgroundnotesinthegrayboxescontainadditionalexplanationsofthegrammarpoint,
common problem areas, and points to emphasize. These notes are intended to help the
instructor plan the lessons before class.
• Thebulletedstep-by-stepinstructionscontaindetailedplansforconductingthelessonsin
class.
ThebackoftheGuidecontainstheanswerkeyfortheStudent Book and an index.

Acknowledgments
TheauthorwouldliketoacknowledgeMr.CharlesJordan,oneofhermostinspiringfriends.Sheis
equallygratefultohercolleaguesatTheNewEnglandSchoolofEnglish,AnnaShine,KateOrellana,
RoseFrançois-Gill,andLoriRosner,andtoPearsoneditorMarianWassnerandfreelanceeditor
MargoGrant.

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Introduction

General Aims of Basic English Grammar
Basic English Grammar (BEG) is a beginning-level ESL/EFL developmental skills text. The
corpus-informed grammar content of BEG reflects discourse patterns, including the differences
between spoken and written English.
In the experience of many classroom teachers, adult language learners like to spend at least
some time on grammar, with a teacher to help them. The process of looking at and practicing
grammar becomes a springboard for expanding the learners’ abilities in speaking, writing, listening,
and reading.
Most students find it helpful to have special time set aside in their English curriculum to focus on
grammar. Students generally appreciate the opportunity to work with a text and a teacher to make
sense out of the many forms and usages. This understanding provides the basis for progressing in
a relaxed, accepting classroom. Successful English classrooms and instructors foster risk taking as
students experiment, both in speaking and writing, with ways to communicate their ideas in a new
language.
Teaching grammar does not mean lecturing on grammatical patterns and terminology. It does
not mean bestowing knowledge and being an arbiter of correctness. Teaching grammar is the art of
helping students make sense, little by little, of a sometimes-puzzling construct and engaging them in
various activities that enhance skill areas and promote easy, confident communication.
The text depends upon a partnership with a teacher; it is the teacher who animates and directs
the students’ language-learning experiences. In practical terms, the aim of the text is to support you,
the teacher, by providing a wealth and variety of materials for you to adapt to your individual teaching
situation. Using grammar as a base to promote overall English skill, teacher and text can engage
students in interesting discourse, challenge their minds, and intrigue them with the power of language
as well as the need for accuracy to create successful communication.

Suggestions for the Classroom
The Grammar CharTs
Each chart contains a concise visual presentation of the structures to be learned. Presentation
techniques often depend upon the content of the chart, the level of the class, and students’ learning
styles. Not all students react to the charts in the same way. Some students need the security of
thoroughly understanding a chart before trying to use the structure. Others like to experiment more
freely with using new structures; they refer to the charts only incidentally, if at all.
Given these different learning strategies, you should vary your presentation techniques and not
expect students to “learn” or memorize the charts. The charts are simply a starting point (and a point
of reference) for class activities. Some charts may require particular methods of presentation, but
generally any of the following techniques are viable.
Technique A:

Present the examples in the chart, perhaps highlighting them on the board.
Add your own examples, relating them to your students’ experiences as much
as possible. For example, when presenting simple present tense, talk about
what students do every day: come to school, study English, and so on. Elicit
other examples of the target structure from your students. Then proceed to the
exercises.

Technique B:

Elicit target structures from students before they look at the chart in the Student
Book. Ask leading questions that are designed to elicit answers that will include
the target structure. (For example, with present progressive, ask, “What are you

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doing right now?”) You may want to write students’ answers on the board and
relate them to selected examples in the chart. Then proceed to the exercises.
Technique C:

Instead of beginning with a chart, begin with the first exercise after the chart. As
you work through it with your students, present the information in the chart or
refer to examples in the chart.

Technique D:

Assign a chart for homework; students bring questions to class. (You may
even want to include an accompanying exercise.) With advanced students, you
might not need to deal with every chart and exercise thoroughly in class. With
intermediate students, it is generally advisable to clarify charts and do most or all
of the exercises in each section.

With all of the above, the explanations on the right side of the charts are most effective when recast
by the teacher, not read word for word. Focus on the examples. By and large, students learn
from examples and lots of practice, but they also find clear explanations helpful. In the charts, the
explanations focus attention on what students should be noticing in the examples and the exercises.

Additional Suggestions for Using the Charts
The Here-and-Now Classroom Context
For every chart, try to relate the target structure to an immediate classroom or real-life context.
Make up or elicit examples that use the students’ names, activities, and interests. For example,
when introducing possessive adjectives (Chart 2-5), use yourself and your students to present all the
sentences in the chart. Then have students refer to the chart. The here-and-now classroom context

is, of course, one of the grammar teacher’s best aids.
Demonstration Techniques
Demonstration can be very helpful to explain the meaning of a structure. You and your students
can act out situations that demonstrate the target structure. For example, the present progressive
can easily be demonstrated (e.g., “I am writing on the board right now”). Of course, not all grammar
lends itself to this technique.
Using the Board
In discussing the target structure of a chart, use the classroom board whenever possible. Not all
students have adequate listening skills for “teacher talk,” and not all students can visualize and
understand the various relationships within, between, and among structures. Draw boxes, circles,
and arrows to illustrate connections between the elements of a structure. A visual presentation helps
many students. As much as possible, write students’ production on the board.
Oral Exercises with Chart Presentations
Oral exercises follow a chart in order to give students increasingly less controlled practice of the
target structure. If you prefer to introduce a particular structure to your students orally, you can
always use an oral exercise prior to the presentation of a chart and its written exercises, no matter
what the given order in the text.
The Role of Terminology
Students need to understand the terminology, but don’t require or expect detailed definitions of
terms, either in class discussion or on tests. Terminology is just a tool, a useful label for the moment,
so that you and your students can talk to each other about English grammar.

Balancing Teacher and Student Talk
The goal of all language learning is to understand and communicate. The teacher’s main task is to
direct and facilitate that process. The learner is an active participant, not merely a passive receiver
of rules to be memorized. Therefore, many of the exercises in the text are designed to promote
interaction between learners as a bridge to real communication.
The teacher has a crucial leadership role, with teacher talk a valuable and necessary part of a
grammar classroom. Sometimes you will need to spend time clarifying the information in a chart,

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leadinganexercise,answeringquestionsaboutexerciseitems,orexplaininganassignment.These
periodsofteachertalkshould,however,bebalancedbylongerperiodsofproductivelearningactivity
whenthestudentsaredoingmostofthetalking.Itisimportantfortheteachertoknowwhentostep
backandletstudentslead.Interactivegroupandpairworkplayanimportantroleinthelanguage
classroom.

ExErcisE TypEs
Warm-up Exercises (See Exercise 2, p. 1 and Exercise 20, p. 38.)
Thepurposeoftheseexercisesistoletstudentsdiscoverwhattheyalreadyknowanddon’t
knowaboutthetargetstructureinordertogettheminterestedinachart.Essentially,theWarmupexercisesexemplifythetechniqueofinvolvingthestudentsinthetargetasaspringboardfor
presenting the grammar in a chart.
AnyexercisecanbeusedasaWarm-up.Youdonotneedtofollowtheorderofmaterialinthe
text.Adaptthematerialtoyourownneedsandtechniques.
First Exercise after a Chart (See Exercise 26, p. 13 and Exercise 16, p. 67.)
In most cases, this exercise includes an example of each item shown in the chart. Students can do
theexercisetogetherasaclass,andtheteachercanrefertochartexampleswherenecessary.More
advancedclassescancompleteitashomework.Theteachercanusethisexerciseasaguidetosee
how well students understand the basics of the target structure(s).
Written Exercises: General Techniques
Thewrittenexercisesrangefromthosethataretightlycontrolledtothosethatencouragefree
responsesandrequirecreative,independentlanguageuse.ThefourtheditionofBasic English

Grammar provides expanded “micropractice” exercises to provide incremental practice with a
singlegrammarstructure(seeChart5–7,Exercises25–28,pp.139–141).Herearesomegeneral
techniquesforthewrittenexercises.
Technique A:

Astudentcanbeaskedtoreadanitemaloud.Youcansaywhetherthestudent’s
answeriscorrect,oryoucanopenupdiscussionbyaskingtherestoftheclassif
the answer is correct. For example:
teacher:Juan,wouldyoupleasereaditem3?
student:AlispeaksArabic.
teacher(totheclass):DotherestofyouagreewithJuan’sanswer?



Theslow-movingpaceofthismethodisbeneficialfordiscussionnotonly
ofgrammaritems,butalsoofvocabularyandcontent.Studentshavetimeto
digestinformationandaskquestions.Youhavetheopportunitytojudgehow
welltheyunderstandthegrammar.Thistechniqueistime-consuming,butit
allowsstudentstodevelopavarietyofskillsandrespondtospontaneouslyposed
questionsaboutvocabulary,content,andcontextaswellasthegrammaritself.

Technique B:

Givestudentstimetocompletetheexercise,inclass,asseatwork.Theyshould
beinstructedtowritetheiranswersinthebookwhileyoucirculateandprovide
assistance.Whenmoststudentshavecompletedtheexercise,invitestudentsto
beginreadingtheircompletionsaloud.Correctioncanbeprovidedimmediately,
andcorrectionscanbereadilyillustratedontheboard.

Technique C:

Read the first part of the item, and then pause for students to call out the answer
in unison. For example:
itementry:“Ali(speak)_____Arabic.”
teacher(withthestudentslookingattheirtexts):Ali...
students(inunison):speaks(withpossiblyafewincorrectresponsesscattered

about)
teacher:...speaksArabic.Speaks.Doyouhaveanyquestions?



xii

Thistechniquesavesalotoftimeinclass,butisalsoslowpacedenoughto
allowforquestionsanddiscussionofgrammar,vocabulary,andcontent.Itis
essentialthatstudentshavepreparedtheexercisebywritingintheirbooks,soit
mustbeassignedaheadoftimeeitherinclassorashomework.

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Technique D:

Students complete the exercise for homework, and you go over the answers
with them. Students can take turns giving the answers, or you can supply them.

Depending on the importance and length of the sentence, you may want to
include the entire sentence or just the answer. Answers can be given one at a
time while you take questions, or you can give the answers to the whole exercise
before opening it up for questions. When a student supplies the answers, the
other students can ask him or her questions if they disagree.

Technique E:

Divide the class into groups (or pairs) and have each group prepare one set of
answers that they all agree is correct prior to class discussion. The leader of each
group can present its answers.
Another option is to have the groups (or pairs) hand in their sets of answers for
correction and possibly a grade.
It’s also possible to turn these exercises into games wherein the group with the
best set of answers gets some sort of reward (perhaps applause from the rest of
the class).
One option for correction of group work is to circle or mark the errors on one
paper the group turns in, make photocopies of that paper for each member of the
group, and then hand back the papers for students to rewrite individually. At that
point, you can assign a grade if desired.

Of course, you can always mix these techniques—with students reading some aloud, with you
prompting unison responses for some, with you simply giving the answers for others, or with
students collaborating on the answers. Much depends on the level of the class, their familiarity and
skill with the grammar at hand, their oral-aural skills in general, and the flexibility or limitations of
class time.
Technique F:

When an exercise item has a dialogue between two speakers, A and B (e.g.,
Exercise 45, p. 83), ask one student to be A and another B and have them read

the entry aloud. Then, occasionally, say to A and B, “Without looking at your text,
what did you just say to each other?” (If necessary, let them glance briefly at their
texts before they repeat what they’ve just said in the exercise item.) Students may
be pleasantly surprised by their own fluency.

Technique G:

Some exercises ask students to change the form but not the substance, or to
combine two sentences or ideas. Generally, these exercises are intended for
class discussion of the form and meaning of a structure.
The initial stages of such exercises are a good opportunity to use the board
to draw circles and arrows to illustrate the characteristics and relationships of
a structure. Students can read their answers aloud to initiate class discussion,
and you can write on the board as problems arise. Or, students can write their
sentences on the board themselves. Another option is to have them work in small
groups to agree upon their answers prior to class discussion.

Open-ended Exercises
The term open-ended refers to those exercises in which students use their own words to complete
the sentences, either orally or in writing.
Technique A:

Exercises where students must supply their own words to complete a sentence
(e.g., Exercise 15, p. 455) should usually be assigned for out-of-class preparation.
Then, in class, one, two, or several students can read their sentences aloud;
the class can discuss the correctness and appropriateness of the completions.
You can suggest possible ways of rephrasing to make the students’ sentences
more idiomatic. Students who don’t read their sentences aloud can revise their
own completions, based on what is being discussed in class. At the end of the
exercise discussion, you can tell students to hand in their sentences for you to

look at or simply ask if anybody has questions about the exercise and not have
them submit anything to you.

Technique B:

If you wish to use a completion exercise in class without having previously
assigned it, you can turn the exercise into a brainstorming session in which
students try out several completions to see if they work. As another possibility,
you may wish to divide the class into small groups and have each group come up
with completions that they all agree are correct and appropriate. Then use only
those completions for class discussion or as written work to be handed in.

Introduction

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Technique C:

Some completion exercises are done on another piece of paper because not
enough space has been left in the Student Book (e.g., Exercise 50, p. 157). It is
often beneficial to use the following progression: (1) Assign the exercise for
out-of-class preparation; (2) discuss it in class the next day, having students
make corrections on their own papers, based on what they are learning from
discussing other students’ completions; and (3) ask students to submit their
papers to you, either as a requirement or on a volunteer basis.

Writing Practice (See Exercise 61, p. 94; Exercise 44, p. 124.)
Some writing exercises are designed to produce short, informal paragraphs. Generally, the topics
concern aspects of the students’ lives to encourage free communication as they practice their writing
skills. While a course in English rhetoric is beyond the scope of this text, many of the basic elements
are included and may be developed and emphasized according to your needs.
These new writing tasks help students naturally produce target grammar structures. They are
accompanied by models and checklists that teach students the basic conventions of clear and
grammatical expository writing. The checklist can be used to guide students’ own writing and to
allow for peer editing.
By providing examples of good compositions written by you (or previous classes, perhaps) or
composed by the class as a whole (e.g., you write on the board what students tell you to write, and
then you and your students revise it together), you give your students clear models to follow.
In general, writing exercises should be done outside of class. All of us need time to consider and
revise when we write. And if we get a little help here and there, that’s not unusual. The topics in the
exercises are structured so that plagiarism should not be a problem. Use in-class writing if you want
to appraise the students’ unaided, spontaneous writing skills. Tell your students that these writing
exercises are simply for practice and that—even though they should always try to do their best—
mistakes that occur should be viewed simply as tools for learning.
Encourage students to use a basic dictionary whenever they write. Discuss the use of margins,
indentation of paragraphs, and other aspects of the format of a well-written paper.
Error-Analysis Exercises
For the most part, the sentences in this type of exercise have been adapted from actual student
writing and contain typical errors. Error-analysis exercises focus on the target structures of a chapter
but may also contain miscellaneous errors that are common in student writing at this level (e.g., final
-s on plural nouns or capitalization of proper nouns). The purpose of including them is to sharpen the
students’ self-monitoring skills.
Error-analysis exercises are challenging, fun, and a good way to summarize the grammar in a
unit. If you wish, tell students they are either newspaper editors or English teachers and that their
task is to locate all the mistakes and then write corrections. Point out that even native speakers—

including you yourself—have to scrutinize, correct, and revise their own writing. This is a natural part
of the writing process.
These exercises can be done as written homework but, of course, they can be handled in other
ways: as seatwork, group work, or pairwork.
Let’s Talk Exercises
The fourth edition of Basic English Grammar has many more exercises explicitly set up for interactive
work than the last edition had. Students work in pairs, in groups, or as a class. Interactive exercises
may take more class time than they would if teacher-led, but it is time well spent, for there are many
advantages to student-student practice.
When students are working in groups or pairs, their opportunities to use what they are learning
are greatly increased. In interactive work, the time students have for using English is many times
greater than in a teacher-centered activity. Obviously, students working in groups or pairs are often
much more active and involved than in teacher-led exercises.
Group work and pairwork also expand students’ opportunities to practice many communication
skills at the same time that they are practicing target structures. In peer interaction in the classroom,
students have to agree, disagree, continue a conversation, make suggestions, promote cooperation,
make requests, and be sensitive to each other’s needs and personalities—the kinds of exchanges
that are characteristic of any group communication, whether in the classroom or elsewhere.
Students will often help and explain things to each other during pairwork, in which case both
students benefit greatly. Ideally, students in interactive activities are “partners in exploration.”
Together they go into new areas and discover things about English usage, supporting each other as
they proceed.

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Group work and pairwork help to produce a comfortable learning environment. In teachercentered activities, students may sometimes feel shy and inhibited or may experience stress. They
may feel that they have to respond quickly and accurately and that what they say is not as important
as how they say it. When you set up groups or pairs that are noncompetitive and cooperative,
students usually tend to help, encourage, and even joke with one another. This encourages them to
experiment with the language and to speak more often.
• PairworkExercises:Tellthestudentwhosebookisopenthats/heistheteacherandneedsto
listen carefully to the other student’s responses. Vary the ways in which students are paired
up, ranging from having them choose their own partners to counting off or drawing names or
numbers from a hat. Walk around the room and answer questions as needed.
• SmallGroupExercises:Theroleofgroupleadercanberotatedforlongexercises,orone
student can lead the entire exercise if it is short. The group can answer individually or chorally,
depending on the type of exercise. Vary the ways in which you divide the class into groups
and choose leaders. If possible, groups of three to five students work best.
• ClassActivity(Teacher-Led)Exercises:
a. You, the teacher, conduct the oral exercise. (You can also lead an oral exercise when the
directions call for something else; exercise directions calling for pairwork or group work, for
example, are suggestions, not ironclad instructions.)
b. You don’t have to read the items aloud as though reading a script word for word. Modify
or add items spontaneously as they occur to you. Change the items in any way you can to
make them more relevant to your students. (For example, if you know that some students
plan to watch the World Cup soccer match on TV soon, include a sentence about that.)
Omit irrelevant items.
c. Sometimes an item will start a spontaneous discussion of, for example, local restaurants or
current movies or certain experiences your students have had. These spur-of-the-moment
dialogues are very beneficial to your class. Fostering such interactions is one of the chief
advantages of a teacher leading an oral exercise.
Listening Exercises
Two audio CDs can be found at the back of the BEG Student Book. You will find an audio tracking

list on p. 514 to help you locate a particular exercise on the CDs. The scripts for all the exercises are
also in the back of the BEG Student Book, beginning on p. 489.
A variety of listening exercises introduce students to relaxed, reduced speech and the
differences between written and spoken English (see Exercise 18, p. 168 and Exercise 42, p. 249).
They reinforce the grammar being taught—some focusing on form, some on meaning, most
on both.
Depending on your students’ listening proficiencies, some of the exercises may prove to be easy
and some more challenging. You will need to gauge how many times to replay a particular item.
In general, unless the exercise consists of single sentences, you will want to play the dialogue or
passage in its entirety to give your students the context. Then you can replay the audio to have your
students complete the task.
It is very important that grammar students be exposed to listening practice early on. Native
speech can be daunting to new learners; students often say that they cannot distinguish individual
words within a stream of language. If students can’t hear a structure, there is little chance it will be
reinforced through interactions with other speakers. The sooner your students practice grammar
from a listening perspective, the more confidence they will develop and the better equipped they will
be to interact in English.
Pronunciation Exercises
A few exercises focus on pronunciation of grammatical features, such as the endings on nouns or
verbs and contracted or reduced forms. Some phonetic symbols are used in these exercises to point
outsoundsthatshouldnotbepronouncedidentically;forexample,/s/,/əz/,and/z/representthe
three predictable pronunciations of the grammatical suffix that is spelled -s or -es (see Exercise 17,
Listening, p. 68). It is not necessary for students to learn a complete phonetic alphabet; they should
merely associate each symbol in an exercise with a sound that is different from all others. The
purpose is to help students become more aware of these final sounds in the English they hear to
encourage proficiency in their own speaking and writing.
In the exercises on spoken contractions, the primary emphasis should be on students’ hearing
and becoming familiar with spoken forms rather than their accurate pronunciation of these forms.

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The goal of these exercises is for students to listen to the oral production and become familiar with
the reduced forms. Beginners’ attempts at reduced or contracted forms may sound strange or even
unrecognizable to other beginners. Keep students’ focus on being able to recognize these forms
when listening to native speakers.
Language learners know that their pronunciation is accented, and some of them are
embarrassed or shy about speaking. In a pronunciation exercise, students may be more
comfortable if you ask groups or the whole class to say a sentence in unison. After that, individuals
may volunteer to speak the same sentence. Students’ production does not have to be perfect, just
understandable.
Expansions and Games
Expansions and games are important parts of the grammar classroom. The study of grammar is (and
should be) fun and engaging. Some exercises in the text are designated as Games. In this Teacher’s
Guide, other exercises have Expansions that follow the step-by-step instruction. Both of these
activity types are meant to promote independent, active use of target structures.
If a game is suggested, the atmosphere should be relaxed and not overly competitive. The goal
is clearly related to the chapter’s content, and the reward is the students’ satisfaction in using English
to achieve that goal.

moniTorinG errors

in

oral Work

Students should be encouraged to monitor themselves and each other to some extent in interactive
work. Not every mistake must be corrected, particularly when students are just beginning to learn
the language. Mistakes are a natural part of language learning. However, students generally ask
for more correction rather than less. Adult students in particular do not want an incomprehensible
level of English to be tolerated by their teachers. Learners want to speak more grammatically and
fluently, and with you openly and immediately correcting global errors, students can learn to correct
themselves. In an attempt to spare students’ feelings, teachers undercorrect or correct so subtly
that students don’t recognize which part of the sentence is wrong. In fact, when a teacher merely
repeats what the student has said but says it correctly, the student may not realize that the teacher is
correcting him at all. Therefore, supportive and explicit correction is best.
Students shouldn’t worry that they will learn one another’s mistakes. Being exposed to
imperfect English in an interactive classroom is not going to impede their progress in the slightest.
In today’s world, with so many people using English as a second language, students will likely be
exposed to all levels of English proficiency in people they meet—from airline reservation clerks
to new neighbors from a different country to a coworker whose native language is not English.
Encountering imperfect English is not going to diminish their own English language abilities, either
now in the classroom or later in different English-speaking situations.
Make yourself available to answer questions about correct answers during group work and
pairwork. Use time at the end of an exercise to call attention to mistakes that you heard as you
monitored the groups. Another way of correcting errors is to have students use the answer key in
the back of the book to look up their own answers when they need to. If your copy of BEG, fourth
edition, doesn’t include the answer key, you can make student copies of the answers from the
separate Answer Key booklet.

opTional VoCabulary
Students benefit from your drawing attention to optional vocabulary for many reasons. English is
a vocabulary-rich language, and students actively want to expand both their passive and active
vocabularies in English. By asking students to discuss words, even words you can safely assume

they recognize, you are asking students to use language to describe language and to speak in a
completely spontaneous way (they don’t know which words you will ask them about). Also, asking
students to define words that they may actually know or may be familiar with allows students a
change of pace from focusing on grammar, which may be particularly challenging at any given time.
This gives students a chance to show off what they do know and take a quick minibreak from what
they may occasionally feel is a “heavy” focus on grammar.
One way to review vocabulary, particularly vocabulary that you assume students are familiar
with, is to ask them to give you the closest synonym for a word. For example, if you ask students
about the word optimistic, as a class you can discuss whether positive, hopeful, or happy is the
closest synonym. This is, of course, somewhat subjective, but it is a discussion that will likely
engage students. Similarly, for a more advanced group, you can ask them for the closest antonym of
a given word, and thus for optimistic students could judge among sad, negative, and pessimistic, for

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example. However you choose to review optional vocabulary, most students will greatly appreciate
and profit from your doing so.

homeWork
The Student Book assumes that students will have the opportunity to prepare some of the written
exercises by writing in their books prior to class discussion. Students should be assigned this
homework as a matter of course.
Whether you have students write their answers on paper for collection or let them write the

answers in their books is up to you. This generally depends on such variables as class size, class
level, available class time, your available paper-correcting time, and your preferences in teaching
techniques. Most of the exercises in the text can be handled through class discussion without the
students’ needing to hand in written homework. Most of the written homework that is suggested
in the text and in the chapter notes in this Teacher’s Guide consists of activities that will produce
original, independent writing.
Some exercises are managed in class, as “seatwork,” whereby you ask students to do an
unassigned exercise in class immediately before discussing it. Seatwork may be done individually, in
pairs, or in groups.

The Workbook

as independenT

sTudy

Particularly eager students can use the Workbook to supplement their learning. It contains selfstudy exercises for independent study, with a perforated answer key located at the end of the book.
Encourage your students to remove this answer key and put it in a folder. It’s much easier for
students to correct their own answers if they make their own booklet.
If you prefer students not to have the answers to the exercises, ask them to hand in the answer
key at the beginning of the term (to be returned at the end of the term). Some teachers may prefer to
use the Workbook for in-class teaching rather than independent study.
The Workbook mirrors the Student Book. Exercises are called “exercises” in the Student Book
and “practices” in the Workbook to minimize confusion when you make assignments. Each practice
in the Workbook has a content title and refers students to appropriate charts in the Student Book and
in the Workbook itself.
Workbook practices can be assigned by you or, depending on the level of maturity or sense of
purpose of the class, simply left for students to use as they wish. They may be assigned to the entire
class or only to those students who need further practice with a particular structure. They may be
used as reinforcement after you have covered a chart and an exercise in class or as introductory

material prior to discussing a chart.
In addition, students can use the Workbook to acquaint themselves with the grammar from any
units not covered in class.

Additional Resources
TesT bank

The Test Bank for Basic English Grammar is a comprehensive bank of quizzes and tests that are
keyed to charts and chapters in the student book. Each chapter contains a variety of short quizzes
which can be used as quick informal comprehension checks or as formal quizzes to be handed in
and graded. Each chapter also contains two comprehensive tests. Both the quizzes and the tests
can be reproduced as is, or items can be excerpted for tests that you prepare yourself.

Fun

WiTh

Grammar

Fun with Grammar: Communicative Activities for the Azar Grammar Series is a teacher resource text
by Suzanne W. Woodward with communicative activities correlated to the Azar-Hagen Grammar
Series. It is available as a text or as a download on AzarGrammar.com.

azarGrammar.Com
Another resource is AzarGrammar.com. This website is designed as a tool for teachers. It includes a
variety of additional activities keyed to each chapter of the student book including additional exercise
worksheets, vocabulary worksheets, and song-based activities tied to specific grammar points. This
website is also a place to ask questions you might have about grammar (sometimes our students ask
real stumpers), as well as also being a place to communicate with the authors about the text and to
offer teaching/exercise suggestions.

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Notes on American English versus British English
Students are often curious about differences between American English and British English. They
should know that the differences are minor. Any students who have studied British English (BrE)
should have no trouble adapting to American English (AmE), and vice versa.
Teachers need to be careful not to inadvertently mark differences between AmE and BrE as
errors; rather, they should simply point out to students that a difference in usage exists.

diFFerenCes

in

Grammar

Differences in article and preposition usage in certain common expressions follow. These differences
are not noted in the text; they are given here for the teacher’s information.
AmE
be in the hospital
be at the university (be in college)
go to a university (go to college)
go to Ø class/be in Ø class

in the future
did it the next day
haven’t done something for/in weeks
ten minutes past/after six o’clock
five minutes to/of/till seven o’clock

diFFerenCes

in

BrE
be in Ø hospital
be at Ø university
go to Ø university
go to a class/be in a class
in Ø future (OR in the future)
did it Ø next day (OR the next day)
haven’t done something for weeks
ten minutes past six o’clock
five minutes to seven o’clock

spellinG

Variant spellings can be noted but should not be marked as incorrect in student writing. Spelling
differences in some common words follow.
AmE
jewelry, traveler, woolen
skillful, fulfill, installment
color, honor, labor, odor
-ize (realize, apologize)

analyze
defense, offense, license
theater, center, liter
check
curb
forever
focused
fueled
jail
practice (n. and v.)
program
specialty
story
tire

diFFerenCes

in

BrE
jewellry, traveller, woollen
skilful, fulfil, instalment
colour, honour, labour, odour
-ise/ize (realise/realize,
apologise/apologize)
analyse
defence, offence, licence (n.)
theatre, centre, litre
cheque (bank note)
kerb

for ever/forever
focused/focussed
fuelled/fueled
gaol
practise (v.); practice (n. only)
programme
speciality
storey (of a building)
tyre

VoCabulary

Differences in vocabulary usage between AmE and BrE usually do not significantly interfere with
communication, but some misunderstandings may develop. For example, a BrE speaker is
referring to underwear when using the word “pants,” whereas an AmE speaker is referring to slacks
or trousers. Students should know that when American and British speakers read each other’s
literature, they encounter very few differences in vocabulary usage. Similarly, in the United States,
Southerners and New Englanders use different vocabulary but not so much as to interfere with
communication. Some differences between AmE and BrE follow.
AmE
attorney, lawyer
bathrobe
can (of beans)
cookie, cracker

xviii

BrE
barrister, solicitor
dressing gown

tin (of beans)
biscuit

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corn
diaper
driver’s license
drug store
elevator
erasers
flashlight
gas, gasoline
hood of a car
living room
math
raise in salary
restroom
schedule
sidewalk
sink
soccer
stove
truck
trunk (of a car)

be on vacation

maize
nappy
driving licence
chemist’s
lift
rubber
torch
petrol
bonnet of a car
sitting room, drawing room
maths (e.g., a maths teacher)
rise in salary
public toilet, WC (water closet)
timetable
pavement, footpath
basin
football
cooker
lorry, van
boot (of a car)
be on holiday

Key to Pronunciation Symbols
The PhoneTic AlPhAbeT (SymbolS

for

AmericAn engliSh)

Consonants
Phonetic symbols for most consonants use the same letters as in conventional
Englishspelling:/b,d,f,g,h,k,l,m,n,o,p,r,s,t,v,w,y,z/.*
Spelling consonants that are not used phonetically in English: c, q, x.
A few additional symbols are needed for other consonant sounds.

/u/(Greektheta)= voiceless th as in thin, thank

/d/(Greekdelta)= voiced th as in then, those

/ŋ/= ng as in sing, think (but not in danger)

/š/= sh as in shirt, mission, nation

/ž/= s or z in a few words like pleasure, azure

/cˇ /= ch or tch as in watch, church

/jˇ /= j or dge as in jump, ledge
Vowels
The five vowels in the spelling alphabet are inadequate to represent the twelve to fifteen vowel
sounds in American speech. Therefore, new symbols and new sound associations for familiar letters
must be adopted.
Front
/i/or/iy/asinbeat
/I/asinbit
/e/or/ey/asinbait

/e/asinbet

/æ/asinbat

Central




/ə/asinbut
/a/asinbother

Back (lips rounded)
/u/,/u:/,or/uw/asinboot
/ʊ/asinbook
/o/or/ow/asinboat
/ɔ/asinbought

Glides: /ai/or/ay/asinbite

/ɔi/or/ɔy/asinboy

/au/or/aw/asinabout
British English has a somewhat different set of vowel sounds and symbols. You might want to
consult a standard pronunciation text or a BrE dictionary for that system.

*Slanted lines indicate phonetic symbols.
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Chapter

1

Using Be

CHAPTER SUMMARY
OBJECTIVE: In this chapter, students learn to describe
themselves and their classmates by using pronouns
in combination with the verb be. Students become
comfortable making basic statements about the world,
using the names of countries, the names of languages,
and basic geographical vocabulary, and using nouns that
describe categories of everyday things. This chapter
presents singular and plural nouns, pronouns, affirmative
and negative statements, and contractions. It also
introduces basic vocabulary for people, family roles and
jobs, and animals and combines these common nouns in
be-statements, simple descriptive adjectives, and common
prepositions.
APPROACH: This book presents basic English in its

most recognizable style and register. For this reason,
contractions, which are among the first important
colloquialisms students are exposed to, are presented
immediately after affirmative statements with be. The first
exercise provides an opportunity for beginners to introduce
themselves to classmates and exchange basic information.
The charts and exercises then focus on the structure of
be-statements with nouns, adjectives, and pronouns.
Chart 1-1 conjugates the verb be with singular subject
pronouns and highlights third person gender differences;
Chart 1-2 highlights plural forms. Later charts model
contractions and negative forms. The text emphasizes
the accurate use of the verb be with common vocabulary.
Chart 1-8 introduces the verb be in conjunction with
prepositions of place, which allows beginners to describe
the physical placement of objects. Finally, Chart 1-9
summarizes basic sentence patterns with be and provides
written and aural practice with these patterns.
Beginning students have varyingly limited degrees of
language to utilize when trying to comprehend classroom
instructions and grammar explanations. It is critical that
instructors make exercise instructions clear in every way
possible—by writing on the board, of course, but also
by being prepared to demonstrate and act out various
instructions and speech acts until students can understand
them. Teaching beginners requires strong communicative
skills on the part of teachers, who should monitor their
own reliance on the book to ensure that students truly
understand the tasks.
TERMINOLOGY: The text uses the term tenses to describe

verb forms that express time relationships, because most
students are comfortable with the term. The idea of tense
as related to time has meaning in many other languages.
The text presents and explains structures with a minimum
of technical terminology and a maximum of repetition
to ensure ready acquisition. This strategy ensures that

students will gain good control of basic grammar structures
and enough working terminology to further their study of the
language.

❑ EXERCISE 1. Let’s talk: class activity.

Page 1
Time: 10 minutes

• Modelthefirstclozestatementsbywritingthemon
the board with the blanks uncompleted.
• Telltheclassthatyouaregoingtointroduceyourself.
Then complete the blanks with your information.
• Writethewordsandexamplesforeachcolumnonthe
board:
first name (names):
country (countries):
city (cities):
language (languages):

Juan, Koji, Chun Hua,
Madonna, Igor, Ahmed
Colombia, Japan, Korea,

England, Russia, Saudi Arabia
Bogotá, Tokyo, Seoul, London,
Moscow, Riyadh
Spanish, Japanese, Korean,
English, Russian, Arabic

• Beginningstudentsmayhavelittlepassivelanguage
to call on when listening to instructions. Provide
support by modeling the exercise with a few students
first.
• Erasetheinformationthatappliestoyou,andwritea
student’s name above the model on the board.
• Completethemodelwithinformationfromtwoor
three students before asking students to complete
their own information in their books.
• Oncestudentshavecompletedtheirowninformation
in Exercise 1, ask them to stand up and move around
the room, getting information from others.
• Circulatearoundtheroom,assistingfirstanystudents
who did not immediately respond to your instructions
/ explanations. Students who do not immediately
grasp an exercise will more readily understand what is
asked of them if you model the exercise directly with
them. True beginners will especially benefit from this
approach.
Optional Vocabulary
Depending on the level of the students in your
class, you will need to decide how much additional
vocabulary to teach for active use or simply “use”
without detailed explanation. This teacher’s guide

will provide lists of optional vocabulary; however,

Using Be

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you should be wary of overloading students with
vocabulary.Whendecidingwhatvocabularyand
associated words to teach with targeted material,
you should take into account the combination of true
beginners and near beginners in your class.

hi
hello
speak

talk
from
come from

❑ EXERCISE 2. Warm-up. Page 1

Time: 5 minutes

• Writethewordshappy and sad on the board.

• Askstudentsiftheyknowwhatthewordsmeanand
incorporate any responses actively into the discussion.
• Addstudents’contributionstotheboardwork.
• Makesimpledrawingsontheboardtoshowthe
meaning.
happy = draw a smiley / smiling face
sad = draw a frowning face

• Writehe = man and she = woman on the board.
• Askonestudenttoreaditem1aloud.
• Asaclass,circletheappropriatepicture.
• Repeattheprocessforitem2.
• Askstudentstocompleteitem3individually.
• Tellstudentshowyouareandwritethisontheboard,
using a simple adjective.
I am happy.

Expansion: Invite students to use other adjectives
they may know. Exercise 5 does just this, but you
may find some students are bursting to show off what
they know. A few minutes of spontaneous sharing
will not take away from the impact of Exercise 5 and,
in fact, may make students more confident when
approaching it.
bored
cold
excited
hot

hungry

nervous
thirsty
tired

If students can readily produce I am + adjective, put
student-generated sentences on the board, using
students’ names.
Juan is hungry.
Hiroko is nervous.
Ahmed is tired.

CHART 1-1. Singular Pronouns + Be. Page 2
Time: 10–15 minutes

Though students won’t have full control of the verb be
in its simple present form, most or many will have seen
it before and some may be able to repeat it as a rotelearned task.

At this level, students will probably not be able to give
full explanations in English. It is still important that you
ask questions and incorporate whatever explanations
they can produce—even something as basic as a
raised index finger, to indicate 1—into your board work.
Doing so prompts students to respond immediately
to your use of English and activates their passive
knowledge of English. Using whatever language they
can produce will help beginning students realize that
they are communicating meaningfully, however stilted
and limited it may seem.
Get good at writing on the board without turning your

back to the students! This allows you to maintain eye
contact while continuing to elicit and encourage student
interaction with both you and the material. Teaching
beginners requires not only becoming a superb actor
but also developing the ability to multitask and maintain
a connection with students even more consistently than
you would need to in more advanced classes, where
you can use more English to explain English.

• Writethechartheading“SingularPronouns+ Be” on
the board.
• Askstudentsiftheyknowwhatsingular means and
write the word on the board.
• Askstudentsiftheyknowwhatplural means and write
the word on the board.
• Incorporateanyandallfeedbackasinclusivelyasyou
can to define the words.
singular = 1
plural = 2, 3, 4, 5 . . . 10 . . . 50 . . . 500 . . . 1000, and
so on.

• Askstudent(s)toreadthesentences(a)–(h)ontheleft
side of Chart 1-1 aloud while you write them on the
board.
• Writeandsaysingular pronoun while demonstrating
the person referred to:
I
you
he
she

it

Point to yourself.
Point directly to one student and one student only.
Point to a male in the class.
Point to a female in the class.
Point to an object in the class.

• Inthesentencesyouhavewrittenontheboard,
highlight the three singular forms of be by underlining
them and drawing an arrow back to the singular
pronoun that requires their use.
I am late.

Expansion: Point to each student in the class and
have the class say whether the person is a he or a she.
Start by pointing at yourself. Keep track of he versus
she on the board.
he = 7 students
she = 9 students + 1 teacher

Optional Vocabulary
bus
refer to
pronoun(s)
person
feminine
forms
masculine
late

early

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❑ EXERCISE 3. Looking at grammar. Page 2
Time: 5–7 minutes
• Askastudenttoreadthecompletedexamplealoud.
• Explainthatstudentshavetochoosewhichpronoun
they need for each noun.
• Writehe, she, or it on the board.
• Allowthreetofourminutestocompleteandthenhave
students read correct answers aloud.
• StressthatbecausethetitlesDr. and Professor are
not gender specific, two answers are possible.

❑ EXERCISE 4. Looking at grammar. Page 2
Time: 5–7 minutes
• Writeam, is, and are on the board.
• Withoutcompletingtheblanks,giveeachstudenta
sentence to read and complete.
• Askstudentsforexplanationsofhot and cold.Write
on the board any helpful words that may come up
(e.g.,weather, summer, winter, food, soup, ice cream,
etc.).

❑ EXERCISE 5. Let’s talk. Page 3

Time: 10 minutes

Part I
• Introducethetaskbywritingontheboarda
few adjectives that are true for you right now, in
combination with a simple be sentence. For example:
Now I am happy and tired.

• Havestudentsindependentlycheckadjectivesthat
are true for them right now.
• Goaroundtheroomandassiststudentswhodonot
recognize the adjectives given or who don’t think
enough are true for them. Assist them in coming up
with more adjectives as needed.
Part II
• Pairstudents.
It can take more time for beginners to pick their own
partners or even understand that you expect them to
work in pairs. Thus, it can be more effective for you
to pair students so that maximum time is spent on the
speaking task and momentum is not lost.

• Askpairstotelltheirpartnerswhatistrueforthem
right now.
• Writesomeofthesentencesyouhearstudentstelling
each other, on the board and in quotes.
Hiroko: “I am nervous.”
Ahmed: “I am tired.”

Part III
• Askeachpairtotelltheclasstwothingsabouttheir
partner.
• Writeafewthirdpersonsentencesontheboard
below the I statements from Part II.

• ShowthedifferencebetweenanI statement and one
about a third person by crossing out the I and am in
an I statement and replacing the pronoun and verb
form. For example:
“I am tired.”
She is tired.

❑ EXERCISE 6. Warm-up. Page 3

Time: 5 minutes

• ReadthequestionHow many people? and write it on
the board.
• Havestudentsreadeachsentenceandchoosethe
correct response.
• Useyourhands,gestures,andtoneofvoiceto
indicatewhomeachpluralpronounrefersto.Monitor
the different ways in which you act out target
structures, to ensure that your actions illustrate
without patronizing students.
• Foritem1,clearlyincludetheentireclassormore
than one student by using your hand to indicate that
weisalwayspluralandalwaysfirstperson(i.e.,the

peopledoingthespeaking).
• Foritem2,showthatyou can refer to one person
or several people by speaking directly to either one
student or more than one student.
• Foritem3,showthatthey is always plural and always
third person by speaking about more than one person
and using appropriate gestures.

CHART 1-2. Plural Pronouns + Be. Page 4
Time: 10–15 minutes

Be prepared to tap into each student’s learning style
by presenting new material in several ways—for
example, by writing on the board as well as modeling
directly with students. Students will be ready for the
presentation of plural pronouns in this chart both
because they have probably been exposed to them
before and because the singular forms have recently
beenpresented.However,speakslowlyandclearly
and illustrate meaning by gesturing toward students
and objects in the class. Be sure students understand
that be has only one plural form.

• Writethecharttitleontheboard,“PluralPronouns+
Be.”
• Askastudenttoremindtheclasswhatplural means
and write it on the board:
plural = 2, 3, 4, 5 . . . 50, and so on.

• Demonstrateandwritewe, you (plural),andthey on

the board.
• Addare after all three plural pronouns.
We are
You are
They are

• Havethreestudentsreadchartexamples(a)–(c)aloud
while you complete them on the board with here.
• Askthreemorestudentstotaketurnsreading(d)–(f),
and write the examples on the board.

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• Pointoutthatpluralpronounsandverbsareeasy:
each plural pronoun is followed by are.
• Tellstudentsthatforbe and other verbs, the plural
forms stay the same in every tense.
Optional Vocabulary
here
there
persons / people

❑ EXERCISE 7. Looking at grammar. Page 4

Time: 5 minutes

• Readtheexample.
• Askwhythey is circled.
• Leadstudentstotheconclusionthatwe always
includes I. Demonstrate we(you, he, she, they + I)if
necessary.
• Completetheexercisebyhavingstudentstaketurns
reading each item and selecting the correct plural
pronoun.
• Remindstudentsthatunlikethirdpersonsingular
(he / she / it), the plural form has no gender
difference. They is used for all combinations of third
person plural.

❑ EXERCISE 8. Looking at grammar. Page 4
Time: 7–10 minutes
• Instructstudentstocompletethesentences
independently.
• Readeachcompletedsentencealoud.
• Askstudentsthemeaningsofadjectivesnotyet
discussed and write them on the board.
Expansion: After working through the meaning of
homesick as a class, ask students what makes them
homesick when they are away from home. Lead the
discussion by suggesting things that make a person
homesick. For example:
language
family

food
weather

Optional Vocabulary
ready
homesick
late
funny
sick

❑ EXERCISE 9. Looking at grammar. Page 5
Time: 10–15 minutes
• Becausethisisthefirstexerciseinthetextrequiring
students to make original sentences from cue words,
explain the task carefully.
• Modeltheexamplebywritingthecuewordsand
example sentence on the board.
• Tellstudentstomakesentencesusingthewordsfor
each item. Go around the classroom to ensure that
students understand the task and are able to work
through it.

• Havestudentsreadthenewlycompletedsentences
aloud to you while you write the correct versions on
the board.
• Forthosesentencesstudentshadtroublewith,write
very overt corrections on the board, crossing out the
incorrect verb with a flourish and writing the new verb.
For example, if a student produces the sentence “You
and I am homesick,” cross out “am” and write “are”

just above or below it.
are
You and I am homesick.
It is critical to students’ acquisition of new and
unfamiliar grammar that you correct them overtly
and definitively. Do so in a level-appropriate and
supportiveway,butdosoreadilyandclearly.Many
times newer teachers or teachers of beginning students
are so concerned about inhibiting students’ production
thattheyundercorrectspeaking(andovercorrect
writing).Often,whenateacherhearsamistakein
the targeted structure, she will tell the student the
correctform.However,thestudentmaynotrecognize
that a correction is being given. The student may
even hear the correction as a repetition of what he or
she said originally, or he may confuse the correction
for a confirmation. It is far more useful to students,
particularly beginners, to be very direct and overt in
making corrections, and even to write errors on the
board.
It is also important to choose carefully when and
whattocorrecttoavoiddiscouragingstudents.Most
learners find clear corrections extremely helpful,
particularly when they are beginning their study of
English. Lengthy discussions of why something is
incorrect may not always be helpful, because beginners
simply don’t have enough language to follow such
a detailed discussion. Therefore, keep explanations
brief and clear and, above all, leave no doubt in the
student’s mind what the correct form is.

Because beginning students can’t easily comprehend
the “filler” language that teachers use when making
supportive corrections, don’t give lengthy explanations
inwhichyouusemany(possiblynew)wordstoshow
your support of students’ efforts. Get students used
to receiving straightforward feedback. For example:
“Good try, Luis, but wrong. Is, not are, goes with the
pronoun he.”
Correctovertly,definitively,anddynamically.Write
corrections on the board, and modulate your voice to
emphasize what is right or wrong grammatically.

❑ EXERCISE 10. Warm-up. Page 5

Time: 5 minutes

• Askstudentstonameafewcitiesandcountriesthey
know.
• Writetheseontheboard.
• Askstudentsiftheyknowwhatanislandis.
• Drawanislandinthemiddleofwaterontheboard.
• HavestudentscompletetheWarm-upindependently
and review as a class.

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CHART 1-3. Singular Nouns + Be. Page 6
Time: 10–15 minutes

This chart presents singular indefinite articles.
Students must be able to identify which words are
preceded by an and which words by a. They thus need
to recognize words that begin with vowels. It matters
less whether they remember the terminology (vowels
and consonants) or can name which letters are which.
Recognition and production are more important than
terminology at this stage.

• Writethecharttitleontheboard,“SingularNouns+ Be.”
• Askastudenttoremindtheclasswhatsingular means
and write the definition on the board. For example:
singular = 1

• Writethewordnoun on the board and elicit the
workingdefinitionbelowand/orpresentitbywriting
it on the board.
noun = person, place, or thing

• Explainthata and anbothmean“one”andthatthese
words are called articles.
• Writeontheboard:
a / an = 1
a / an = articles

• Tellstudentsthata is the more common article and it

goes before most words.
• Writeontheboard:
a city
a country
a school
a student

• Explainthatan is the form of the article used before
words that begin with vowels.
• Askstudentsiftheyknowwhatavowelis.Writethe
following on the board:
an goes before words starting with vowels
vowels = a, e, i, o, u
an animal
an egg
an island
an office
an umbrella

• Askastudenttoreadsentence(a)inthechartwhile
you write it on the board.
• Reviewthenotesaccompanyingsentence(a)with
studentsandwritekeywordsontheboard.
• Askanotherstudenttoreadsentence(b)whileyou
write it on the board.
• Reviewthenotesaccompanyingsentence(b)with
studentsandwritekeywordsontheboard.

❑ EXERCISE 11. Looking at grammar.
Page 6

Time: 5–10 minutes

Optional Vocabulary
consonant(s)
vowel(s)
town
island
place

street
avenue
ocean
continent

❑ EXERCISE 12. Vocabulary and grammar.
Page 7
Time: 10–15 minutes
Part I
• Writethewordgeography on the board and create a
quickwordmap.
• Askstudentsiftheyknowanyvocabularywordsabout
geography and write any related words they come up
with on the word map.
• Possibilitiesinclude:
map
world
land
countries
oceans
seas

places
islands

rivers
mountains
cities
towns
areas
continents
languages

• Writeeachofthefourheadingsintheexerciseonthe
board.
• Tellstudentstoputthewordsintheboxabovethe
chart into the appropriate categories in the chart.
• Givestudentsfivetosevenminutestocompletethe
chart independently.
Part II
• Havestudentsgetintosmallergroups.
• Askstudentstomakesentencessimilartothe
examples given.
Expansion:Keepstudentsingroupsandcirculate,
providing help as needed. For groups and students
whofindthetasklesschallenging,askthemtoaddto
theappropriatecolumnasmanycountries,languages,
cities,andislandstheycanthinkof.
Next,giveindividualstudentsonewordfromthe
originallistinthebox.Askonestudenttomake
a sentence and write it under the correct column
heading on the board.

Finally,invitethosestudentswhomanagedthetask
mostquicklyandeasilytomakeadditionalsentences
with geographical words and write their sentence in
the correct columns on the board.
Students in beginning classes may have a relatively
widerangeofabilities,soyoushouldbereadyto
accommodate the different speeds at which they
completetasks.Forcontrolledexercisespresented
andreviewedinclass,havethemostcompetent
studentstacklethemoredifficultquestionsand

• Givestudentsafewminutestoselectthecorrect
articles independently.
• Reviewasaclass.

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